The Conversation
by Worth 12 of Malfoy
Summary: Alberich is defeated, the Library is saved, and now Irene faces an even worse task: a potentially emotional conversation with Kai. Set immediately after the end of 'The Burning Page', part of the Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman.


The Conversation

The door stood slightly ajar, and Irene paused before entering. Through the gap she could see Kai, propped up in bed, book in hand. His black hair was loose and lay tousled over his shoulders. He wasn't wearing a shirt, but most of his upper body was covered by the sling holding his left arm. He bore no obvious signs of pain on his face or in his posture, and she felt herself relax. She'd known he'd be all right, but it was good to see it with her own eyes.

'I hope they've provided you with some good reading matter there,' she said, stepping into the room. Her voice was slightly husky from the smoke and a night spent repeating her story over and over.

'Irene!' His face lit up with a smile so utterly delighted and unguarded she felt it like a physical impact. No one else ever looked that pleased to see her. He gazed at her with big, trusting eyes. 'Are you all right?'

'I'm supposed to be asking you that, you're the one in the hospital wing,' she pointed out, taking the chair next to his bed.

He waved his good hand in the general vicinity of his injuries and adopted a look of ostentatious bravery. 'Oh, I'm just fine. I've been well dosed up on antibiotics and painkillers, and they've stitched me up with silver thread.'

_They stitched her up with silver thread. _The line from the Grimm book echoed unwanted in Irene's mind, together with a flash of the new knowledge of what had happened to Alberich's sister beforehand. It must have shown on her face, because Kai's smile fell. 'What's wrong?' he asked, pushing his book aside and reaching for her.

'Nothing,' she assured him firmly, picking up the book as a distraction. 'Turgenev?' She raised an eyebrow at him. 'Trying to improve your Russian?'

'Well, after St Petersburg I thought it needed some work. My speaking isn't up to speed with my comprehension, I found.'

Irene nodded. 'Your grammar is the main problem. But I think we're ready to start you on another language now. Arabic would be useful.'

He shrugged and winced as the movement pulled his stitches. 'If you like. Irene, what did Coppelia say? Is the Library all right now?'

She clearly wasn't going to avoid the main topic any longer. 'As far as I can tell, the Library is back to normal. A team from security went back into the world where Alberich had his Library. There's nothing much of it left.' She shuddered. _Thanks to me._

'Was there a body?' he asked, scrutinising her closely. She hated when he looked at her like that, as if he could read her mind. He knew her far too well.

'No. But they didn't find Zayanna's remains either, so that doesn't necessarily mean he escaped.' She could hear the scepticism fighting with the fragile, desperate entreaty in her voice. She wanted to think Alberich was dead. But her logical brain said that if she had managed to escape, he would have been able to as well.

'Let's hope so,' Kai agreed. 'And… what about you?'

'I told you, I'm fine. They gave me a cursory check-up and declared me essentially unhurt, and then I spent the rest of the night being debriefed.' She wished her voice didn't sound so rough and scratchy, and that she'd had time to shower before coming to see him. But she hadn't wanted to waste any time. He'd been hurt saving her life, and it seemed indecent to do anything but go straight to him as soon as she could.

His eyes widened. 'The rest of the night? You mean you haven't slept?' She could almost see the cogs of his mind turning. Any minute now he was going to leap out of bed and start wrapping her in his own blankets.

'Of all the potential outcomes, I consider a sleepless night getting away lightly. Where's Vale?'

'Bradamant took him back to his London. I get the impression the seniors weren't too keen on him hanging around here. And you know what he's like, he wanted to return before a major crime spree occurred in his absence.' He gave a fond smile at the thought of their friend. 'He really does seem completely better, thanks to you.'

She looked at the floor. '_No _thanks to me,' she said quietly, guilt twisting in her chest. 'I did what I thought was right – I made the _only_ choice I could. But I don't feel good about it.'

Kai frowned. It had been him who'd questioned her motives around this in the first place after all. 'You mean getting him to help us investigate when it could have pushed him further into chaos? Irene, you gave him the choice. He chose to help.'

'I knew what he'd choose. Singh was right.' The thought occurred to her, _I'm no better than Zayanna. She didn't really _want _to kill me, but she went ahead and had a good few tries anyway._

'But _he still chose it_,' pointed out Kai. 'Just because you rightly guessed the way he'd go, doesn't make it any less his own free will to have chosen that way.' His hand found hers and took it, squeezing firmly. 'I challenged you pretty hard last night, making you consider your motives. And they were sound. You did the best you could, Irene. For goodness sake, you've just saved the whole Library, and probably the lives of every Librarian! And however many more lives that would have been lost had Alberich won and the Library ceased to be there to stop him. And you're sitting here beating yourself up!'

'I'm not used to having friends,' she said, so quietly she wasn't sure he'd hear. It was an embarrassing admission. 'Conflicting loyalties. It's always been the Library for me. Remember you once asked me how I would choose between the Library and my honour? I never thought then those two things would be different.' To her humiliation, and before she could stop them, she felt two cold tears worm their way down her cheeks.

His thumb stroked the back of her hand. 'Irene,' he murmured. 'You've had a difficult night. You're exhausted. You're a _hero, _Irene. They should be… I don't know – erecting a statue in your honour! Everything's worked out well. Alberich is defeated, the Library is saved, Vale is back to normal.'

It was all she could do to stop herself wailing, but as it was her voice had a definite high pitched edge of hysteria. 'I burned down a library, I destroyed countless rare books, Zayanna is dead, you've been hurt, I put Vale at risk!' _I'm adopted and my parents have lied to me my whole life, _she added mentally, but managed to stop herself voicing out loud. She took a shuddering breath. 'I _burned down a library_,' she repeated, still unable to believe the words were true. 'My life is devoted to saving and preserving books. Even _Alberich_ reacted like I'm a monster.'

Kai hauled himself up in the bed and scooped her close to him with his single arm. There was nowhere to rest her head as he pressed her awkwardly against him, and yet she didn't – couldn't – pull away. 'You had no choice – you had to destroy his library to save this one, and all the people bonded to it,' he told her fiercely. His voice softened. 'Come on, this isn't like you, Irene. You're worn out. If you weren't so tired that you can't think straight, you'd know what you're saying is illogical. The only person at fault in all of this Alberich. Please stop this now. I didn't save you just so you could be miserable and blame yourself for everything.'

With a monumental effort and a rather disgusting sniff, she pulled herself together and drew back from him. 'You're right. I'm sorry,' she said stiffly, quickly wiping her face.

He pointed to the empty bed on the other side of the room, neatly made into a starched white rectangle. 'Why don't you have a rest for a couple of hours? A bit of sleep here in the Library, where it's safe, before we head back to London.'

It was so very tempting. 'Kai, I can't. It wouldn't be… appropriate. I'm not ill, I don't need the hospital wing. I can't just randomly climb into one of their beds.'

'If it weren't for you there wouldn't be a bed, a hospital wing, or indeed a Library. If you wanted to sleep on Kostchei's desk itself I don't think anyone would stop you this morning. Go on.' He pointed again, his voice firm.

'Since when did you get to give me orders?' she asked weakly.

'I'm not giving you orders, I'm presenting to you a recommended course of action, as a good subordinate should. You're always telling me to take more initiative in making plans.' He gave her a rather smug smile, and she felt a surge of affection.

'Well, maybe just a few minutes,' she agreed, walking across. 'No more than an hour.' She untied her boots and eased them from her aching feet. The bed was hard, but right now she could have slept on the floor. She lay on top of the covers, to emphasise the casual, temporary nature of the arrangement. At first she felt rather stiff and self-conscious, but a wave of heavy weariness surged through her almost at once and her eyes began to close. 'Don't go anywhere,' she murmured, feeling that she needed to make sure Kai had his instructions.

'I'll be right here,' she heard him say, and then no more.

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Kai's book lay open on his lap, but he hadn't read any of it for several minutes. Instead he focussed on the sleeping figure across the room from him, watching the rise and fall of her chest. There was a slight wheeze to her breathing which he didn't like. Although she was deeply asleep, she didn't look peaceful. Her face bore too many obvious signs of strain, the lines of worry so ingrained that even in sleep there was a pinched look to her features.

She was grimy from soot, with a smudged tide mark on her cheek where she'd wiped away her tears. He longed to take a damp handkerchief to the place and scrub her clean. But that brought to mind thoughts of hot soapy showers and wet bodies intertwined. He pushed them firmly away; such fantasies were only appropriate to entertain in the privacy of his own bedroom.

Glancing away, he startled at the sight of a figure in the doorway. It was rare anyone managed to creep up on him – he'd been far too absorbed in his daydreams about Irene. How long had Madam Coppelia been standing there? The elderly Librarian was leaning on an ebony walking stick, and was gazing at Irene with such a look of fierce tenderness that he was taken aback. She caught his eye and they shared an embarrassed moment that said 'caught each other out there, didn't we?' before the older woman took control.

'I'm glad to see you awake, Kai. How are your injuries?'

'Healing well, Madam Coppelia, thank you.' He inclined his head to acknowledge the inquiry in the proper way, then ploughed on quickly. 'Madam Coppelia, forgive me, I insisted that Irene took some rest. It was entirely my idea, she didn't want to…'

Coppelia held up a hand to stop him. 'I'm glad to see the girl is doing something sensible, possibly for the first time tonight. It's you I wished to speak to.' She entered the room and sat in the chair that Irene had vacated earlier. 'I've yet to hear your account of events after you left me.'

Kai's heart sank. He'd hoped that the fact the Library had been saved and Alberich defeated would be sufficient to avoid any close examination of how many rules he and Irene had broken in doing so. But clearly that was too much to hope for. He kept his face straight and said, 'Of course, Madam. As you know, the detective Peregrine Vale and I tracked you down and appraised you of the situation, after which you returned to the Library to muster forces to assist Irene. You bade me to ensure Vale was returned safely to his London.'

'I did indeed,' she said dryly. Her face seemed to add 'and didn't mention anything about flying off in search of Irene'.

'Which he has been,' Kai continued, earning himself a raised eyebrow. 'Prior to that, he and I decided we should at least try to reach Irene, in order to assist her in her struggle against Alberich. We were not certain if we would be able to find her, but we considered it was worth trying in case we were able to offer her any kind of help.'

'And of course, I didn't forbid you from doing so,' pointed out Coppelia, with a definite gleam in her eye. At which point he realised – she'd known full well he'd go after Irene, and had wanted him to do so. The absence of an order telling him not to was the closest she could give to a seal of approval.

'Exactly, Madam,' he agreed. 'So I resumed my proper form and we flew to the place between the worlds. As you know, dragons can find any person or place they know well amongst the worlds. However on this occasion it was difficult. I… I can't describe it exactly. I would need to talk to one of my own kind. It was unlike anything I've encountered before. It was like… I don't know, trying to shoot a moving target? I could sense her out there, but I couldn't go straight to her. I think it must have been because the world Alberich had hijacked was being pulled further from chaos and closer to order as it became more and more aligned with the Library. But that in itself is problematic because we dragons cannot sense the Library in the same way we can other worlds. It is barred to us. It's not even visible by its absence.'

Across the room, Irene made a slight noise and he broke off. But she didn't stir and continued to breathe deeply. 'She's still sleeping,' he said, knowing the cadence of her breathing well enough to be able to tell. He continued, 'So it took longer than I'd like to locate her, but once I did, I was able to enter the world.'

Coppelia leaned forwards now, ancient eyes bright with interest. 'Tell me everything you saw.'

He nodded and gave a careful and thorough description of the burning building he'd arrived above. Coppelia prompted him with the occasional question, pressing him for details about size, shape and layout. Kai closed his eyes as he tried to recall – he had an excellent memory but at the time he'd been focussed purely on locating Irene, so had mentally dismissed anything that wasn't the sight of his supervisor. He finally reached the part where he located Irene and with Vale's help got her onto his back.

'This correlates with Irene's own account,' said Coppelia with a satisfied nod. 'Continue.'

'I flew up from the blaze. My intention was to exit the world in the usual way – that is, the usual way that dragons do. But then I heard Alberich shouting in the Language. He sent up some metal railings as missiles. I managed to avoid most of them, but the chaos level impeded my usual agility and I was hit in the abdomen and wing.' He patted the region of his injuries with his good hand. 'After that it was very hard to fly and I knew I wouldn't be able to gain sufficient height and strength to leave the world and take two people with me. So Irene told me to fly to a door, which I did. I transformed, she opened a route to the Library, purged Vale of chaos, we entered the Library and Irene closed the door.'

Coppelia nodded slowly, her eyes thoughtful as she considered his tale. 'And after you had returned to the Library? What were your impressions of Irene?'

'Irene?' he asked, glancing over at his sleeping supervisor, somewhat alarmed. He hadn't been expecting that question. 'She was coughing a bit, and quiet. Shocked. I was bleeding badly and Vale was tending my injuries, so my observations may have been impeded.'

'What did she say about what happened?'

Kai's heart thundered as he tried desperately to understand Coppelia's agenda. What should he say? Was there anything Irene would want to keep quiet? The fact that she'd cried for the first time in their entire acquaintance, for example. 'She said that she had had to burn the library. She was… distressed about that. She said that the fae woman Zayanna was dead, had died to save Irene's life. And she said she hoped Alberich was dead.'

'We all hope that,' said the elderly Librarian with feeling. 'Nothing more? Did she tell you anything Alberich said to her?'

He shook his head, glad he could answer this honestly without any worry about what he revealed. 'Nothing. She mostly just talked about burning the books, and how bad she felt about that. And she thanked me for rescuing her.'

'Mmm...' The sound wasn't of disbelief, more of someone making an interested observation. He fervently wished he knew what was going on in Coppelia's head.

'Madam Coppelia? Forgive me asking, but Irene isn't in any trouble, is she?'

The old woman smiled. 'For saving the entire Library and everybody's lives? I think she can probably be forgiven any minor infractions of the rules along the way on this occasion. In fact, she can come off probation – I'll see to the paperwork later. You can let her know when she wakes.'

Kai bit back a comment that simply removing Irene from probation (which she'd been placed on unjustly in the first place in his opinion) was hardly an adequate reward for what she'd just done. But that was the Library for you. You had to be glad of what you got. He wouldn't have put it past them to punish her for taking the initiative despite the good outcome. 'Yes, Madam Coppelia. I'm sure she'll be pleased.'

'Hmm…' Coppelia was staring at Irene again, eyes slightly narrowed as though deep in thought. Then she turned to him. 'Keep an eye on her, Kai. Alberich likes to mess with people's heads, and she spent longer talking to him than possibly anyone else has who has lived to tell the tale in the last few centuries. He is more dangerous than even she would realise.'

'She is very upset about burning the books,' Kai agreed, cautiously. He looked at Irene with new eyes, wondering what psychological damage Alberich might have done her. It might explain the uncharacteristic tears. She was only human after all, despite her impressive strength of character and apparent belief she had to be perfect. He felt a little sick with anxiety at the thought of her suffering mentally, knowing she would never admit it if she was. The urge to protect her was a physical pain even greater than the ache from his wounds.

Coppelia sighed. 'Irene is too hard on herself – it's one of her best and worst qualities. She spends so much time trying to mitigate her failings that she forgets to learn from her successes.' The elderly Librarian shook her head slowly. 'Any other Librarian who had done what she'd done would be out there, regaling everyone they met with the story. But Irene isn't just modest about it, she's actually ashamed.'

'Perhaps that's a defence mechanism. Alberich's reach is pretty extensive. Maybe it's better the fewer people who know what she did.' He glanced nervously towards the door. Even if Alberich was dead – and Kai doubted that he was – he didn't operate in isolation. Plenty of people would have done well out of the Library being eliminated, and might not be ready to thank Irene with open arms for her intervention.

'That may be true but it's utterly impossible,' Coppelia stated flatly. 'There's no way this will stay quiet. The cat is firmly out of the bag. Irene already has a reputation, despite her determined efforts to remain oblivious to internal politics. Just because she ignores gossip, it doesn't mean that it will ignore her.'

Kai recalled his brief, uncomfortable conversation with Bradamant in Irene's rooms. 'Madam Coppelia? Is there any truth in what some of the other Librarians say – does Irene get treated differently?'

The old woman's bright eyes fixed on his. 'What do you think?'

'I don't know,' he admitted. 'I've never been assigned to any other Librarian, so I haven't anything to compare with. But I do know that if Irene has it easy, then I really wouldn't want to see what having it tough looks like.'

'You've been talking to Bradamant, I suppose? Irene's childhood will always make her different from the other Librarians. It's very rare for Librarians to raise a child. Whether it's an _advantage_ or not is hard to say. Sometimes I think it's more of a burden to her. But the likes of Bradamant won't see it like that. Generally Librarians have a bad time prior to being recruited, or they wouldn't get recruited in the first place. Irene… Irene is different.' The old woman looked wistfully across at the subject of their conversation as she spoke, a slight sad smile on her lips.

'Did you assign me to her so that I could protect her?' asked Kai, daring to voice a question he'd long wondered.

Coppelia didn't look away from Irene. 'No. I suggested you be assigned together because I thought you would bring out the best in each other, and I was correct. Irene is not a conventional Librarian, and neither are you.' She met his eye again and added, with an amused look, 'And I suspect you are not an entirely conventional dragon prince, either.'

He wanted to protest that last comment, but it was too obviously the truth. A conventional dragon prince wouldn't be there as a student of the Library in the first place. For the first time it occurred to him that perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing, being unconventional, if it was what had brought him together with Irene.

'Now, much as I would like to stay here talking, there is a great deal to attend to. Let her sleep as long as she needs, there's no rush to return. We won't be sending anyone on assignment for the next week or so.' Coppelia rose to her feet, a painfully slow movement that almost made him wince in sympathy. 'Remember what I said, Kai. Far older and wiser people than Irene have fallen prey to Alberich. Irene doesn't necessarily need protecting, but she does need a friend.'

Kai smiled. 'Do not fear, Madam Coppelia. She has a friend in me.'

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It was late afternoon when Irene returned to London, irritated with herself for having slept for so long. Her head was throbbing with a constant sick ache, and she'd woken with images of burning books still imprinted on her retinas. Kai had suggested staying overnight, but she was itching to return to the place she thought of now as home. She needed to get on with life, rather than hide in the Library dwelling on things. Besides, she had no desire to be a celebrity, so she'd prefer to lie low in world B395 until her latest exploits were forgotten.

Kai was maintaining an air of noble silent suffering in as obvious a way as possible. She suspected he was angling for some sort of metaphorical pat on the head, or maybe even an 'I've been a brave dragon' sticker. Of course, he should know better than to expect that from her by now. Instead she sent him shopping since they had no food in their lodgings, and then set him to making dinner whilst she worked through a pile of correspondence that had built up in their absence. He did so without complaint, but with beseeching eyes and the odd not-very-subtle wince. She ignored him.

It had been dark for several hours by the time she'd finished her work, and with dinner eaten and washed up and a fire crackling in the grate she finally allowed herself to sink down in her favourite armchair. 'Thank you,' she said to Kai, as he placed a tumbler of brandy next to her. She noted approvingly that he'd given her an unusually generous measure. Trying to curb her drinking was one of Kai's annoying habits.

'Well, you said there had to be brandy,' he informed her, taking his own glass and sitting down in chair opposite. She realised he was tense, although he was trying to affect nonchalance.

Her heart sank. When she'd agreed to having a 'talk' with Kai she had been about to go into mortal peril. Her mind had been occupied by the thought of her very likely imminent death. She'd have likely agreed to anything that enabled him to let her go and do what she had to. Now she found herself facing some sort of painful emotional discussion. She'd almost rather go back into Alberich's burning library.

'You remember that you agreed to talk about things, when you got back,' said Kai, taking a little sip of his brandy.

'Yes, I remember,' she admitted, knocking back a much larger slug of her drink. 'Do we have to do it now?'

'Are you likely to feel any more inclined to do it another time?' he pointed out rhetorically.

'All right. But you know how I feel about emotional conversations, Kai, and I am still very tired.'

'Nothing I am going to say is emotional. I am simply going to lay out some facts. So you get to choose whether there's any emotion in the conversation or not, based on your contribution.' He nodded, very solemn.

She doubted that, but gave him the benefit of the doubt. He'd obviously prepared, so she waved a hand casually. 'Go on then. Let's hear your facts.'

'OK, I am going to describe things as I understand them. Before you were assigned me as a student, and became Librarian-in-Residence here, you were a lone agent. You went wherever you were sent, obtaining books, adopting a new identity with every mission. You operated alone, having to rely completely on yourself and your own resourcefulness and abilities to succeed. You went in, got the book, returned it to the Library, and moved on to the next mission. You were an unknown journeyman, making a fresh start with every assignment. Below the radar. And that's the way you like it. Your preferred _modus operandi_ is to blend into the background and let people underestimate you. And you carried on like that for – what, twenty years?'

'More like fourteen,' she corrected him with a slight sniff. 'I'm not _that _much older than you.'

'Fourteen,' he agreed, in a tone of appeasement. 'Do you agree with my summary of the facts thus far?'

'I suppose so,' she admitted grudgingly.

'Good. And then everything changed, literally overnight. You defeated Alberich and made yourself a powerful enemy. You were given a permanent assignment here in B395, and suddenly there was a place you could always be found and a long-term cover identity to maintain. Things changed for you Irene, very drastically and very fast. Because everything was new for me at the time, it didn't occur to me to wonder how it might have felt for you. But the truth is, whether you like it or not, you're not that free agent anymore, anonymous and faceless. You aren't just an average Librarian. You are a target.'

He paused there, watching her face very closely to gauge her reaction. She scowled at the floor, biting back a dismissal of his words. She wanted to tell him it wasn't true, that she was nobody important. She definitely didn't feel like anybody important. But she couldn't deny that she'd made enemies, and it was true that her current circumstances did not afford her the same low profile as being an ordinary journeyman had.

'It isn't because you're not capable of managing on your own – you've proven that over and over for fourteen years. _You_ haven't changed. But your circumstances have. The risks are higher, and as such you can't operate with the degree of freedom that you used to. You need some back up, and not accepting it isn't brave, it's foolish. If you get into trouble, I _will_ have to come and find you, and I _will_ risk my life, and so will Vale. So it would be much better to save us that risk and just let me accompany you in the first place.'

Damn him. Every word he said was true and sensible. He'd managed to construct a watertight argument and deliver it calmly and factually. The gung-ho young man she'd first met would have struggled to do that. She should be patting herself on the back for this evidence of development, if it weren't for the weight of what his words meant for her. It meant a chapter of her life had finished and she would never again be able to return to the freedom she'd known before. The worst thing was, it hadn't felt like freedom at the time. She hadn't appreciated how lucky she had been. And it had ended before she even had a chance to celebrate it. Was this what getting old was like?

The silence was stretching as she reflected on his words. Eventually he said, softly, 'Irene? What do you say? Can we agree, no more solo missions?'

'Am I allowed to shower alone?' she asked sourly, finally finding her voice.

To her surprise he blushed, and then smiled. 'Of course. Although should you ever wish for me to join you, I can assure you we would have a most enjoyable time.'

'Don't push your luck. I might be prepared to agree to your terms on solo missions, but don't think that means I'm softening up on anything else. I am your superior and a physical relationship between us would not be appropriate. If you want someone to entertain you in bed as well you'd be better assigned to Bradamant.'

He pulled a face. 'Never. I would never want to be assigned to her, not for anything. And I would not want to bed her either. She's physically attractive but I wouldn't be comfortable being intimate with her.' Sudden alarm crossed his handsome face and he leaned forwards, eyes huge with fear. 'Irene, you won't ask them to reassign me will you? I don't want a supervisor who isn't you.'

She sighed. It didn't take much to scratch the cool surface and reveal the insecure little boy underneath. Kai still had that teenage mixture of bravado and vulnerability that was both annoying and somehow endearing. 'Of course I won't ask them to reassign you. _I_ don't want a trainee who isn't _you_. I'm rather fond of you, you know. Even if you do keep trying to get me into bed.'

Kai relaxed, rewarding her with one of his beautiful smiles. 'You can't blame me for trying. But don't worry, I won't again tonight. Do you agree, then, to not going off on missions on your own?'

She opened her mouth to agree, and found the words sticking in her throat. It was stupid, this feeling so momentous. It was the only logical option. She almost always brought Kai with her anyway – it wasn't like she usually struck out on her own. Not that often. Just from time to time. When he got on her nerves. Which was quite regularly… 'It's not practical to promise that,' she said eventually.

'It's not practical to keep going out on risky missions alone when you have at least two very dangerous known enemies who might – no, who _will_ – try to get revenge.' He hesitated and took a deep breath. 'Do you remember what you said to me, on the morning I got kidnapped?'

She hadn't expected that question and racked her brains. It wasn't a day she was keen on remembering, and she struggled to see what relevance it had to the current conversation. 'Remind me,' she said eventually.

'You said I was your ally and your friend. You said I was the person you trusted to watch your back. You said you didn't want to lose me. I repeated that over and over whilst I was incarcerated, to keep myself going. I remind myself of it every time you act as though you'd rather I wasn't around. It's your words Irene, and you swore to me that you meant them. So if that's the case, why keep leaving me behind?'

'I don't _keep_ leaving you behind,' she protested weakly. 'And you promised you wouldn't start with the emotional stuff.'

'Then promise me you'll stop going off alone on missions, and I'll have no need to introduce any more 'emotional' points to my argument.' He smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. She could see beneath his veneer of rationality that he was scared, genuinely afraid for her. Somehow that was more effective that anything he'd said.

'I suppose I should congratulate myself on having schooled you so well in the art of emotional blackmail,' she said drily. 'But very well, you've convinced me. You have my word that I won't go off on dangerous solo missions. I'm not swearing in the Language though, just in case. If anything happened to you again nothing must be able to stop me coming to the rescue.'

His face broke into a smile, and he raised his glass. 'I'll drink to that.'


End file.
